Before Erector Sets became an American institution, A.C. Gilbert and John A. Petrie partnered in a company that manufactured magic tricks: The Mysto Manufacturing Co.

Based in New Haven, Connecticut, Mysto's lifespan was brief, but in that time, the company developed an enviable reputation as a firm responsible for finely crafted conjuring apparatus. From Petrie's workbench came an incredible output of apparatus that looked like fine furniture and handled beautifully, taking center stage along with the great performers that used the props in their wonder shows.

But Gilbert's vision for the company was much bigger: the mass market. And though Mysto made magic sets for children, it was Gilbert's hope to reach every American boy with a new product called the Erector Set that caused a rift between him and his partner.

In this monograph, author Nelson Nicholson uses original research and sources to trace the roots of the Mysto Co. and the Petrie/Gilbert partnership, the firm's eventual dissolval, and the formation of the famous firm of P&L, makers of magic, and the A.C. Gilbert Co., one of the most profitable makers of toys in the 20th century.